USC axes cross country

Published: Saturday, April 1, 1995 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, April 1, 1995 at 12:00 a.m.

The University of South Carolina athletic department will announce today that it's eliminating men's cross country effective at the end of the current academic year in a decision to conform to the demands placed by gender equity in college sports. The move to drop cross country was approved on Tuesday by athletic director Mike McGee, and runners were notified by their coach, Jeff Small, on Wednesday that the program would be cut to make room for women's soccer, which will debut this fall. When contacted by the Herald-Journal on Friday, Small declined to comment, adding "from what I understand, a press release will come out on it (today)." Two years ago, the Southeastern Conference voted to add two more women's sports in response to possible gender equity legislation proposed by the NCAA's Gender Equity Task Force to offset the imbalance of participatory and scholarship numbers caused by football's 85 scholarships. The addition of soccer brings the total of women's sports offered by the university to 10; nine sports will be offered to men for the 1995-96 academic year. South Carolina's athletic budget for the 1994-95 academic year was $18.37 million. Men's track accounted for more than $310,000, of which cross country's expenditures were about $10,000. More than $71,000 was allocated for women's soccer. About $350,000 is required to fully fund a non-revenue sports program at South Carolina. "I'm very disappointed. (Cross country) doesn't solve any of the gender equity issues," said senior runner James Paige, who completed his eligibilty for the sport last fall. "The only gain that's made is taking a title sport from one side to the other." There were 14 runners who participated last fall. All were offered partial athletic scholarships which counted against track's equivalent of 12.6 total scholarships. Among the 10 returning runners affected by the department's move is former Spartanburg High School athlete Travis Brady, who competed as a freshman last fall. "Travis liked to run cross country. He excelled in that as well as track," noted his father, Lindsey Brady. "It's just one less thing he'll be doing athletically in the fall. He's not going to transfer. "Other colleges in the state have cross country, and then there's the University of South Carolina which won't have a team. But it will be interesting to hear what others will say." Paige said at least six runners have already expressed the possibility of transferring next fall to another program. "For some, cross country is the only chance to compete in the SEC," Paige said. "The problem I have with it, there's a lot of kids who run indoor and outdoor track, and it's going to affect the track program adversely. No middle-distance or distance runner will come to the school." XCAXED.31

<p> The University of South Carolina athletic department will announce today that it's eliminating men's cross country effective at the end of the current academic year in a decision to conform to the demands placed by gender equity in college sports. The move to drop cross country was approved on Tuesday by athletic director Mike McGee, and runners were notified by their coach, Jeff Small, on Wednesday that the program would be cut to make room for women's soccer, which will debut this fall. When contacted by the Herald-Journal on Friday, Small declined to comment, adding "from what I understand, a press release will come out on it (today)." Two years ago, the Southeastern Conference voted to add two more women's sports in response to possible gender equity legislation proposed by the NCAA's Gender Equity Task Force to offset the imbalance of participatory and scholarship numbers caused by football's 85 scholarships. The addition of soccer brings the total of women's sports offered by the university to 10; nine sports will be offered to men for the 1995-96 academic year. South Carolina's athletic budget for the 1994-95 academic year was $18.37 million. Men's track accounted for more than $310,000, of which cross country's expenditures were about $10,000. More than $71,000 was allocated for women's soccer. About $350,000 is required to fully fund a non-revenue sports program at South Carolina. "I'm very disappointed. (Cross country) doesn't solve any of the gender equity issues," said senior runner James Paige, who completed his eligibilty for the sport last fall. "The only gain that's made is taking a title sport from one side to the other." There were 14 runners who participated last fall. All were offered partial athletic scholarships which counted against track's equivalent of 12.6 total scholarships. Among the 10 returning runners affected by the department's move is former Spartanburg High School athlete Travis Brady, who competed as a freshman last fall. "Travis liked to run cross country. He excelled in that as well as track," noted his father, Lindsey Brady. "It's just one less thing he'll be doing athletically in the fall. He's not going to transfer. "Other colleges in the state have cross country, and then there's the University of South Carolina which won't have a team. But it will be interesting to hear what others will say." Paige said at least six runners have already expressed the possibility of transferring next fall to another program. "For some, cross country is the only chance to compete in the SEC," Paige said. "The problem I have with it, there's a lot of kids who run indoor and outdoor track, and it's going to affect the track program adversely. No middle-distance or distance runner will come to the school." XCAXED.31</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output -->